Bike News

First mass-produced sport-trike in the world goes on sale

Yamaha has revealed the price for its Niken. The trike will be sold for £13,499 in the UK. Most European countries see pricing around the €15,000 mark, with Italy being the minimum (€14,990) and Denmark being the maximum (an exceptionally high price of around €27,000, after converting from Danish Kroner).

This means that the Niken is a significant £5,100 more expensive than the MT-09 motorcycle that it is based on. In fact, the trike is priced much closer to the YZF-R1 (£16,499), Yamaha’s litre-class superbike. Part of this premium can be attributed to the extra hardware required at the front end of the trike (twice the number of fork tubes and wheels), not to mention the significant R&D costs that would be required to develop its design.

The parallelogram link design used for its front suspension and steering systems allows the Niken to lean into corners like a regular motorcycle, without the risk of having a lowside crash. The three-wheeler shares its engine with the MT-09 – an 847cc DOHC in-line triple – churning out 115hp at 10,000rpm and 87.5Nm of torque at 8,500rpm. The transmission consists of a six-speed gearbox and chain final drive. As a result of all the extra components on its front end, the Niken has a kerb weight of 263kg.

At the moment, there is no indication whether Yamaha intends to launch the Niken in India.